The NC State men’s basketball team will look to improve its record to 6-0 when it takes on Mercer Saturday night at PNC Arena.
The Pack is off to its second 5-0 start under head coach Kevin Keatts as it defeated Saint Peter’s, 85-57, Tuesday night. After a first half 30-6 run and halftime lead of 59-27, NC State seemed sluggish in the second half, being outscored 30-26. But the dominant first half was enough to hold off Saint Peter’s.
Redshirt senior Torin Dorn continued to play well, leading the team with 12 points. The Wolfpack assisted on 20 of 27 field goals; sophomore guard Blake Harris led NC State with four assists. Throughout the first five games, all 10 members of the team have found the scoring column.
Coming off a 2-2 start, Mercer dominated Maryland Eastern Shore, winning its second in a row, improving to 3-2 and giving head coach Bob Hoffman his 600th career win. Last year Hoffman led the team to a 11-7 Southern Conference record, earning a berth to the College Basketball Invitational, the sixth postseason appearance for Hoffman during his tenure at Mercer.
The addition of freshman guard DJ Peavy have given the Bears another 3-point threat. Junior guard Djordje Dimitrijevic is shooting 40.9 percent from beyond the arc and redshirt junior guard Ethan Stair is shooting 52.9 percent.
Through five games, Dimitrijevic has been the Bears’ most efficient and biggest scoring threat. Averaging 13.6 points on 23.4 minutes per game. Free throws have not been a problem for Dimitrijevic either; he went 4 for 4 against Maryland Eastern Shore.
However, the biggest issue for NC State could come from freshman forward Fardaws Aimaq. As the Pack lacks depth down low, Aimaq will present a tough matchup in the paint. In his last game Aimaq came up with a team leading 10 rebounds and went 4 for 4 from the field. Although Aimaq has struggled from the line only hitting 35.7 percent of his free throws.
Look for NC State to continue its fast-paced offense by pushing the break, pressing on defense and getting everyone involved on offense. Because the Pack will be dealing with a major rebounding threat, it will be interesting to see how Keatts will control the battle on the boards.
This will be the last home game for the Pack before heading north to face Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday at PNC Arena and the game can be watched on ACC Network.
